“If you’re an elderly person in a constituency like mine in rural Shropshire and you haven’t got a car, or you lose the ability to drive, you are at a disproportionate disadvantage,” he said.

The study, published by the Age UK charity, found there were 1.2 million people older than 50 who were socially isolated in Britain.

Almost 600,000 older people left their houses just once a week or less, the survey says.

Loneliness and social isolation “can have a severe impact on people’s quality of life in older age”, the report adds.

It is the first time that findings into the scale of the problem of rural isolation among the elderly have been compiled in this way.

The report, backed by the Prince of Wales’s Countryside Fund, calls on ministers to make tackling loneliness among the elderly in rural areas a priority.

Living in isolation and prolonged experiences of loneliness have been linked to serious health problems. Studies suggest that loneliness can be as damaging as smoking 15 cigarettes a day.

The Age UK report, titled Later Life in Rural England, warns that the problem can be “masked” as those suffering from their isolation are hidden from their communities.

The report says it found many examples of “older couples buying retirement homes in rural villages, then, unfortunately, one of them dies, leaving the surviving partner quite alone, without any family close by”.

The collapse of local infrastructure, such as regular bus services, and the closures of pubs, shops and post offices, severely limits the daily social contact opportunities for elderly people in isolated villages.

“When a post office closes, the community not only loses the post office, but also a community hub, access to government services and, vitally, daily social interaction,” it says.

Even elderly people living with their families and in care homes can be affected by loneliness, the report warns.

The report says rural communities have more elderly members than other parts of Britain, with about half of the rural population aged over 45, compared with 36 per cent living in major urban areas.

Across rural England, the number of people aged over 65 who need help with basic washing and dressing every day is projected to increase by 70 per cent over the next 16 years.

At the same time, the number of cases of depression and dementia are also projected to increase faster in the countryside than urban areas.

The financial pressures of heating homes through oil, rather than the gas grid, and more expensive transport and shops also add to the pressures on elderly people living in the countryside, the study finds.

The charity is calling on the Government to ensure that the needs and interests of older people are taken into account when rural policies are designed.

Michelle Mitchell, Age UK’s Charity director general, said: “Life in rural England is very tough for many people. Too many are stranded at home, lonely and isolated, struggling to the shops, post office and even hospital, because of a lack of local bus services.

“The high cost of heating because so many rural homes are badly insulated and are off the mains gas grid as well as the challenge of getting adequate social care all add up to make life in the countryside difficult for many and far from the stereotype of a rural paradise.

“With rural communities ageing rapidly, it’s more critical than ever that the Government and local authorities make sure that the older people who live there, many of them frail and vulnerable, have access to the services and facilities they need to live as independent and fulfilling lives as possible.”

Mr Paterson, the Cabinet minister responsible for rural affairs, said it would be vital to extend fast broadband internet services to the most remote parts of the country.

The Government has faced criticism for slow progress in the roll-out of rural broadband but Mr Paterson insisted that the plans could make a “huge” difference to isolated elderly people.

“The biggest thing we can do to people is to get broadband into our most remote communities,” he said. “The great thing about broadband is you can Skype your daughter in Sydney, and you can keep up with all the latest news, culture and sport online and do your shopping and play a valuable role in society.”

Mr Paterson said there was “a huge social gain for elderly people” from giving them internet access as well as the potential ability to deliver health services more effectively over email.

This month Mr Paterson’s Department for Environment launches a new guide for ministers and government officials across Whitehall to ensure that policies take account of the various needs of rural residents.

The department said: “Government has not always been successful in considering the needs of rural communities when making policy. A reduction in the number of post offices across the UK could affect a rural area more severely than a town, for example.”

Rural areas are home to nearly 10 million people and include 505,000 businesses.

While many countryside areas were doing well, ageing, isolation, and the distance from key services “can impact on people’s lives”, the department said.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/10194119/Lonely-lives-of-the-rural-elderly.html